Before answering the question ‘How to save the heart of society?’, I think it is only appropriate to say – how to save the society itself.

According to the latest data, Serbia has been losing about 100,000 people annually: 35,000 is the negative difference between birth and mortality rate and around 65,000 people emigrate.

Several global, regional, and national factors that act simultaneously have influenced increasing of this trend:

1. Low standard of people in Serbia causes young people to go abroad in search of a better life, so there is no one left to ‘work on increasing the birth rate’.

2. Change in the habits and behavior of the "millennials" (generation born between 1984 and 2004), who should be the main "producers of birth rate": they avoid marriage, their desire to have children is decreasing, they have no sense of loyalty, attachment to a particular city, state... This is, of course, a global phenomenon.

3. Neighboring ‘reservoirs’ which ‘filled Serbia with population’ since 1991 have become more and more ‘scarce’. There are no more refugees who partly ‘improved’ the poor demographic situation in the nineties, primarily in Belgrade and Vojvodina. A certain number of young people from Republika Srpska and Montenegro still move to Belgrade and Novi Sad, but this trend is diminishing.

4. All other factors that are present in society such as constant regional instability (Kosovo, Bosnia ...), lack of legal state and institutions of the system, corruption, etc., make those who want to have children, who are able to have them, and perhaps plan to stay in the country - decide not to take that step.

Through arithmetical progression, we may expect that – not in 2060. – but rather in the next 5 to 10 years – this country will find itself in the situation of lacking sufficient staff for majority of necessary occupations (even migrants do not wish to stay here), empty villages and half-empty towns...with many old people and no one to fill the budget for their (guaranteed?) pensions.

There is little we can do about the first three factors. However, about the fourth one, which, judging by the survey from the new issue of ‘Nedeljnik’ – ranks first when young people make decision to leave the country – we can do something!

Some ten days ago, as a jury member for awarding of the prestigious ‘Virtus’ awards, I participated in a ceremony where several companies and individuals received these significant awards. The audience consisted of representatives of foreign embassies (USA, Norway, Australia), the EU, large companies, NGO sector... and - none of the ministers.

I think that all the efforts of the civil sector, foreign embassies, companies and individuals to preserve the "heart of society" – will remain having a very limited reach.

Back in 2013 when the migration crisis began, our company launched the campaign ‘Clandestino’, during which we provided aid to the centers in Banja Koviljača and Bogovađa ... A year after that - the state became involved more actively. We constantly help homes for disabled children, shelters for homeless people, old people's homes. We do it with pleasure - but most of these activities – are not our job, or the job of any company and foundation - but job of the state we finance by paying taxes.

Therefore, I believe that the ‘heart of society’ will be preserved only when we force the state to do its job, so that us, ‘conscious individuals’, will be left with ‘philanthropic complement’.

And to get back to the beginning - in order to preserve the ‘heart of society’ we need to preserve the society and make it our main priority to solve problems from the item under number 4.